MODERN WCS SWING
Westies Fusion Out West!
At Li'Rann Dance we have social dinner before classes every Tues and Thurs night at The Victoria Hotel Yarraville.
WHAT IS MODERN WEST COAST SWING?
West Coast Swing, also increasingly known as Modern Swing, is a popular style of partner dance that originated on the West Coast of the US. It is characterized by its smooth, relaxed movements and versatility, with an elastic, smooth and stretchy connection between the lead and follow.
This allows dancers to incorporate various styles of music, from blues and country, to pop and hip hop. Dancers typically perform in a slot, with the lead guiding the follow through a series of turns, spins, and intricate footwork. This dance form is known for its playful between partners and its emphasis on improvisation.
Both lead and follow use musicality to interpret what they hear in the music into individual movements, that becomes a dance conversation between them, with no two conversations ever the same. The follow has the ability to initiate dance conversations just as much as the lead, which is one of the characteristics that makes this style of dance unique.
SOCIAL DANCING
Here in Melbourne there is a Social Dancing Night at least once a month, but many class nights will incorporate social dancing in their format as well.
Social dancing is really what dancing any style of partner dancing is all about... meeting new people, having fun, practising the steps and techniques you've learnt, and honing the ability to ad lib and create on the fly.
These nights are also a great time to let loose and try new ways of interpreting the music, developing your musicality to let your body move and express yourself in your own unique way, while still remaining within the structure of the dance.
Many Social Dancing Nights will also incorporate a group dinner beforehand, to fuel up for a night of dancing, and to mix and mingle in an environment where you can hear each other off the dance floor.
COMPETITION DANCING
Most months in Australia and New Zealand there is a Competition Event Weekend taking place.
Melbourne has its own competition called REVITALISE that takes place in July, but there are also competition weekends in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Hobart and New Zealand.
Modern West Coast Swing is a worldwide community, and as such there are Competition Events all around the world! In Australia, with our close proximity to Asia, dancers will often venture to the Asian Open in Singapore, which has become a popular event to attend.
Competition Event Weekends generally run for 2 to 5 days, and are not just for competing. These Weekends have 3 main activities they provide: Competition, Workshops, and Social Dancing.
Competitions are run and judged under the rules of the WSDC -World Swing Dance Council. Points are awarded only for the Jack + Jill sections, and these points are recorded and kept by the WSDC. These points are what are used to move upward within the competition framework.
Workshops are run aimed at different levels of dancer proficiency by high level professionals from across Australia and also from overseas. These help you to learn new concepts and techniques that you can take away with you to incorporate into your dancing.
The Social Dancing aspect of a Competition Event Weekend is a chance to dance with people from outside your own local community, and also from outside your country, as many Events attract overseas dancers. Social Dancing is well known to go until very late at night... sometimes as late as 3am!